You know the drill – just another round-up of some soul music releases/performances on our radar: Macy Gray, Bruce ‘Mississippi’ Johnson, and Empress of Soul Gladys Knight. 

Macy Gray – Ruby

We can bucket Macy Gray with the likes of Fantasia and Janis Joplin as voices that will forever be an acquired taste. Raspy, shredded, and, as she has acknowledged herself, quite peculiar. In an increasingly competitive market, distinctiveness is the holy-grail of most musicians. But Macy Gray has more than just a distinct vocal. Not only does she know how to finesse a song, she can write too – with a co-write credit for every song on this latest record. Ruby – with bright, jazzy, at times gaudy, production – marks Gray’s tenth studio album. Clocking in at a modest 43 minutes, the album covers love, pain, and politics. While the chorus risks some whimsical overkill, the politically-charged ‘White Man’ is a pointed excoriation of you-know-who. ‘Hey white man I am not my grandmother,’ she coolly states – against an intro that (to this writer) recalls Nina Simone’s rendering of the African-American spiritual ‘Sinnerman’. Gray is at her most vulnerable on penultimate track ‘But He Loves Me’, a piano-driven ballad exploring the tension of an abusive relationship which Gray insists is underpinned by genuine love. It contrasts with the giddy sentiment of ‘Over You’, a joyous ode to a romantic partner (‘there’s an angel living in my house’) with retro, Motown-flecked production. ‘Shenanigans’ and the silly ‘Sugar Daddy’ are the only two irritations on an album which is jazzy, vibrant, and emotional. The band, particularly the horn section, breathes a vivacious energy into the album – from the boozy schmaltz of ‘Tell Me’, to the explosion of horns in ‘Jealousy’.

Bruce ‘Mississippi’ Johnson – The Deal Baby

I was recently pointed in the direction of Mr Bruce ‘Mississippi’ Johnson – a US marine turned jazz and blues artist. Having entertained the Parisian jazz scene for a while, Johnson now resides in London – performing blues music in the style of his home state. His debut album The Deal Baby, released last year, is full of unpretentious, sturdily constructed blues ditties. One can imagine Johnson sitting by a river in his native Mississippi translating journal entries into music.The honesty and frankness of his storytelling cuts through. ‘I can never erase / You being touched by hands other than mine,’ Johnson reflects on the dirgey ‘Years, Tears’. He acknowledges his own indiscretions on ‘No Good’, which includes a rumbling spoken interlude. He celebrates his innate affinity with the blues genre in the aptly titled ‘I Can’t Shake The Blues’, making nods to Aretha Franklin and BB King. Characteristic of the rest of the album, the electric rhythm guitar acts a pulse throughout the tune, with overlayed horns and electric piano mixing delightfully. He shows his humourous side on title track ‘That’s The Deal Baby’, where he clamps down on his partner’s profligate spending. He does not sing with technical magnificence, but with a weathered baritone that connotes life experience.

Gladys Knight sings ‘License To Kill’ on Strictly Come Dancing

Has any legacy vocalist kept their instrument in better shape than Empress of Soul Gladys Knight? Having delivered a great set at ‘Proms in the Park’ a few weeks ago, Ms Knight performed ‘License To Kill’ on the Strictly Come Dancing results show on BBC1 last Sunday. Resonance, grit, vibrato, rasp – Ms Knight sounds remarkable irrelevant of age. Bravo!

(Image copyright: Mack Avenue Records II, LLC, Bruce Johnson)